Safety / Video library
What Is PPE and How Do You Choose It? | Workplace Safety
Explore personal protective equipment (PPE) and how to approach choosing it for workplace tasks.
By Todd Jerome Jenkins, MS, CSP · Free to watch · No account required
Enable the player to connect to YouTube. Google may receive your IP address and browser information and use cookies or browser storage.
Personal protective equipment · 5:26
Watch the lesson
The video plays through YouTube’s embedded player without leaving this page. Player controls may still offer a path to YouTube.
Companion reading
Choose protection from the exposure
Start with the work and its hazards, then select protection for the exposure that remains after stronger controls are considered. The equipment’s appearance or a familiar brand does not show that it protects against the chemical, impact, temperature, noise or other condition present.
For general industry, 29 CFR 1910.132 requires workplace hazard assessment and appropriate PPE selection, communication and fit. It also addresses training and demonstrated ability before work that requires the PPE. Construction and other sectors have their own applicable provisions. Check those requirements and the manufacturer’s instructions for the actual equipment.
Selection includes compatibility. Eye protection, hearing protection, a hard hat and respiratory equipment can interfere with one another when worn together. Consider the person, adjustment, condition, limitations, cleaning, replacement and storage. Respiratory protection also brings separate medical, fit-testing and program requirements where applicable; selecting a mask from an SDS is not the whole process.
Before the task
- Name the exposure and the performance needed.
- Check fit and compatibility of the complete PPE combination.
- Confirm the worker can inspect, use and care for it correctly.
Fictional work example
A worker has gloves that resist one cleaner but is asked to use a different solvent. Reusing the same gloves without checking material compatibility and contact conditions can leave the hands exposed.
Consider: What should change when the product or task changes?
Compare your reasoning
Revisit the hazard assessment and manufacturer information, select appropriate controls and PPE, and explain the new limitations before work begins.
Sources and further reading
Original companion notes and fictional examples · Updated . These notes support study; apply the actual workplace procedures and requirements. Government sources retain their own status and do not endorse this material.